Your Resident Demon Boy
by Astronomer Always
Summary: A REWRITE OF "DEMON'S AND WEREWOLVES." Everything was fine, and everything was normal at Third Street. Until those huge things decided to come out of the firey pits of hell (apparently) and reek havoc.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, listen up! Since I didn't like the direction of the original story, I decided to go ahead and rewrite it, with a plot and rules in mind. At the request of the person who requested this story, I will keep the first, original story up if you would like to read it. But this is a rewrite, and I hope you all enjoy it.**

* * *

If it was any other day, Spinelli would be wide wake, still reeling from the excitement of surprise tickets to a wrestling match from her father. Maybe it was because it was late, maybe it was because it was Sunday, or maybe it was because of the traffic, but she was ready for bed.

"Tired, pookie?" Her father asked. Spinelli nodded and yawned. "Must be from all the excitement. Sure with this traffic would hurry up, though." And Spinelli agreed. Sleeping in the car with you head against the window wasn't exactly comfortable, and she's rather be in bed. Just as she was about to doze off and put a flat imprint of the glass on her forehead, there was an almost deafening boom was heard and shook any and all tiredness out of her. Eye's wide open, she and her father watched as this big creature, thing big. . . _thing_ jumped on the hood of the car before jumping over it onto other cars and into the nearby woods.

"What in the world was that?" She heard her father yell. It wasn't only them who saw, as those in the cars around them stepped out to see what the heck just happened. Still shaken, the sound of something else jumping on the hood of the car. Spinelli turned in time just to see a person, about the size of a kid, jump on the car, then onto the roof before running after what ever what _thing_ was into the woods.

Getting through the traffic took at least another hour, what with how difficult everyone was being about moving their cars after seeing what they did. Apparently what happened made the news, and her mother had been watching it and waiting for the two of them to get home. After getting free from her mother's bone crushing hug, Spinelli headed upstairs and got ready for bed. Even though an hour ago the bed would've been waiting for her with open arms, she was now wide awake. Plopping down on her bed, she looked out her window. A few people were outside with cameras, probably looking for what she and her father had seen on their way bak to take a picture.

In her opinion, they were kind of stupid. Those things looked dangerous. It left a huge dent in her father's car! He made a comment about it being a miracle that they were able to get home and him having to take to the shop. They were lucky it didn't attack. And how did these people know that it would attack them? It would be a massacre.

Well, at least she knew what was going to be the talk of the school tomorrow. Yawning, Spinelli was about to turn and get into bed when she saw the tree branch just outside of her window move. She wiped away some of the condensation on her window in time to see someone climb and sit on the branch. Whoever they were, 'cause she should see if it was a boy or girl, wore all black. Black sweatpants, black hoodie pulled up over their head, black shoes, even black fingerless gloves. They sat rather comfortably on that branch and waved.

Spinelli, being a mix of weirded out and curious, waved back. Feeling a little brace, she moved to sit in front of her window and opened it.

"Hey," She said. "You're that person who was chasing that thing from earlier, aren't you?" They nodded. "So what were those things? They looked dangerous and you were chasing after them like it was nothing. Weren't you afraid?" They shook their head. "I guess not. You wouldn't be chasing it if you were. . .So what's your name, kid?"

This time, they didn't answer.

"No answer, huh? Okay, how about this," She said, trying again. "Do you go to Third Street?" Still no answer. "Look, if you're not gonna say anything, then can you leave? I've got school in the morning, and you probably do, too. So if you don't mind. . ." Spinelli moved to close and lock the window. She paused for a second long enough to see him jump down from the branch and started to leave the yard.

Weird kid.


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, an update? I know, right? College is time suck. Don't worry though. I've still been working on it.

* * *

Considering what happened the night before, the morning routine went strangely normal for Spinelli. She climbed out of bed after being yelled at for the third time by her mother, climbing in the shower, getting dressed and gathering her homework before heading downstairs with her book bag slung over her shoulder. She sat at the kitchen table joining her parents as she ate her usal bowl of cereal.

Nothing weird, nothing out of the ordinary, until she headed for the door.

"And where do you think you're going, young lady?" Her mother asked as she opened the front door.

"To school? Isn't that where I'm supposed to go?" Spinelli asked.

"Not with those _things_ running around!"

"So am I not going to school?" She asked, barely holding back her hopefulness at the aspect of a day off of school.

"Yes, you are. You're just not walking there," her mother said. "You're going to take the bus."

"And when's the bus gonna get here?" Right as she finished asking, the bus pulled up in front of her house.

"Have a good day at school, sweetie!"

Getting on the bus, Spinelli spotted none of her friends. She figured their parents drove them to school. She could see why he parents didn't when she saw the state of the family car. The hood was wrecked, it was a miracle that they were able to get home last night without much issue.

Speaking of which, the reason behind the cars damage was the topic of the day. It was all the other kids on the bus were talking about. Some of them claimed to see it, others didn't and listened closely to those who did, and some were trying to figure out what they were. So when the bus arrived at school, Spinelli guessed that's all she would hear at school today.

When they climb off the bus, they were being ushered inside by some of the teachers. If this was anything to go by, normal recess probably wasn't going to be a thing for a while. She found her friends standing together near their classroom door. There was still some time before school actually started and they had to be in class.

"Hey, guys. What's going on?" She asked joining them.

"Hey, Spinelli! We were wondering when you would get here," TJ said before yawning.

"Did you hear about those things running around town last night?" Gus asked. "A few of them ran past my house. I could barely see them, since my dad boarded up the windows."

"Yeah, I saw them. I couple jumped on my dad's car last night when we were coming home," she said.

"Did you get a good look?" Vince asked, Spinelli nodded.

"They looked like wild dogs to me," she said.

"I'm just glad you're not hurt, Spin," said TJ.

Before the conversation could continue, the bell rang, and they had to go to class.

Surprisingly enough, they did have recess outside. There was, however, a sign saying they couldn't enter the woods or the abandoned playground. After the week of indoor recess, they weren't excited about the idea of being stuck inside.

"Based on what everyone is saying, the best guess is that they're probably just wolves that found their way into town," Gretchen said. "Or coyotes."

"Are there wolves supposed to be around here?" Vince asked. Gretchen nodded.

"The woods around the lake are very dense, they could be from there."

"Did you see anything, Mikey?" Gus asked.

"I think I slept through the entire thing," Mikey said.

"Mikey can sleep through an earthquake," Spinelli commented. "There was a kid chasing after them, though."

"A kid?!" They asked unanimously.

"Yep."

"Did you get a good look at him?"

"How old was he?"

"Does he go to school here?"

"No, I dunno, and I still don't know," she answered. "He jumped on the car after them. I'm not even sure if it's a guy or not. But. . .He came to my window. I'd guess he's around our age, maybe a little older, so he might go to school here, I dunno. But it could be anyone."

A small group of kids ran past them and over to the jungle gym where a bunch more kids had gathered around. Curious, the six of them went over to find out that was drawing this much attention.

Ol' Rusty looked a little worse for wear. A few claw marks now decorated the play structure. Probably not enough to have the whole thing replaced, but it didn't look safe enough to climb, with the frayed metal and some of them needing a tetanus booster.

"I-I don't think a wolf did that," Gus nervously said.

"You're right, Gus. A wolf couldn't have done this," said Gretchen. "A wolf has four toes. These marks show that whatever did this has five. And based on the size of each scratch, the paw of whatever did this has to be huge."

"Maybe it's a werewolf!" Someone from the crowd yelled.

"Oh, c'mon! A werewolf?" Spinelli shouted back. "Werewolves aren't real!"

"Do you have a better idea, Spin-ugly?" Ashley A. nastily asked.

"Do _you_?" She snapped back. Ashley A said nothing. "That's what I thought."

"Are we done staring at this thing? It's recess! I wanna do something!" Lawson shouted.

"Like _Battle Tag_!" As soon as those two words came out of his mouth, the crowd chanted, following him towards the field for a round or two.

"Hey, Teej. What's the matter? Aren't you coming?" Spinelli asked when she noticed he was staying behind.

"Nah. I think I'll sit this game out," TJ said. "I'm tired. I wouldn't be much help on anyone's team."

"Didn't get much sleep last night, huh?"

"Nope. I think I'll go take a nap in the cheese box. Could you wake me up when the bell rings?" He asked.

"No problem, Teej. I'll see you later."

The battle tag was much more brutal than Spinelli remembered it being. The first round left her sore, but she wasn't about to limp to the nurses office. No, she was just going to walk the pain off by passing up the second around for a walk around the playground. With most of the playground left behind for the game, Spinelli figured that checking up on TJ wouldn't be a bad idea. She crossed the playground over to the cheese box and peeked inside.

He wasn't asleep like he said he would be. Instead, he was sitting in the corner, reading a small book while occasionally writing in it.

"Hey, Teej. What'sha doin'?" Her sudden presence made him jump and quickly tuck that little book in his jacket.

"O-oh, hey, Spinelli. When did you get here?" TJ asked.

"'Bout a minute ago," she said. She climbed into the cheese box and joined him. "What was that book you were reading?"

"What book?"

"The book you put in your jacket," said Spinelli. "The one you were just writing in."

"Oh. . .that book," He said. "It's nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yep. Absolutely nothing," he said. "What happened to battle tag? Is it over already?"

"No, I'm just a little sore so I decided to walk it off. But don't change the subject, Teej," she said. "I wanna know what that book is."

"Don't tell anyone, okay?" He asked. "It's a, uh, journal. Y'know, one of those things people keep their thoughts in? One of those."

"That's it? Geez, you act like it was something super secret," she said. "You probably just write up all your plans in that thing, right?"

"Right. Sorry, Spinelli. I sorta wanna keep what I have in mind secret until it's ready to go," said TJ. "You understand, don't you?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's no problem. I won't tell anyone," she said.

"So you got a close look at those things, huh?" He asked. "Were you scared?"

"Not really. I was falling asleep when the first one jump on the hood," she said. "Surprised is more like it."  
"What about that kid? You sure you didn't get a good look at 'em? I sorta wanna find out if they go here or not."

"Nope. He was wearing a hoodie with the hood up. I couldn't make out anything," she said. "He didn't say anything, either. Weird."

The bell rang, and other kids started to head inside. The two of them climbed out of the cheese box and joined their friends on the way back inside.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Most of the kids seemed to have forgotten about the mysterious creatures running around Third Street. At the end of the day, kids headed home, either on the bus like that morning or by their parents taking them home. Given how close their houses were, Spinelli took a ride with TJ and his parents instead of riding on the overcrowded bus.

Her parents weren't willing to let her go outside and play with her friends after school, either. Then again, most parents probably weren't letting their kids outside, and that made her feel slightly better. Rather than mop about it, that night, Spinelli planted herself on the couch in the living room and turned to wrestling before her mother made her go upstairs to do her homework.

But eventually, her mother did, and she had no choice but to hole herself in her room at her desk, working out math problems she'd rather pretend didn't exist. Closing her text book, she kicked off her boots and was ready to go to bed.

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

A knock at her window caught her attention. She walked over to the window, half expecting that kid to be standing or sitting on the branch outside her window again. And she was right. He was right there, sitting on the branch like it was nothing in the world. He still had that hoodie one, and she still couldn't get a good look at his face.

"So you're back," she said after opening her window. "What's your deal, kid? Am I the only person whose window you go to?" He nods. "Why?" He shrugged. "Is this about you jumping on my dad's car last night? I'm fine, dude. You don't have to keep checking up on me."

He shrugged again and moved to lay on his stomach. Still, like it was nothing.

"Are you out chasing those things again tonight?" She asked. He nodded. "Can you talk?"

"Yes," he spoke. He had a sort of raspy voice. It made her think he was wearing one of those toys that disguised your voice. She had one of those in the trunk in front of her bed, matter of fact. At lest she could tell that he, was in fact, a boy.

"You could've said something before, dude," she said. "Can I get a name?" He shook his head. "Do you go to Third Street? You know, the school around the block?" He nodded.

"I'm closer than you think. Really, really close," he said. Before she was able to ask him more questions, he stood up and jumped down out of the tree. He looked back up at her and waved before climbing over the fence and leaving the yard.

Still a weird kid.


	3. Chapter 3

The conversations on the bus the next day were just like the previous morning. Students were still swapping ideas about what was happening around town. Still, Spinelli only paid half attention to what the students around her was saying. Her mind was still on that kid popping up at her window.

What his deal, anyway? Was she the only one he went out of his way to show up at her window at night? Were there other kids that he went to? Probably not; she was sure it would be one of the first things she heard when she got on the bus. But no. as far as she could tell, this kid picked her to hang around.

She found her friends, already in the classroom, like most of the students were. Though she noticed right away there were less students than usual, though it was no means close to being like the time she and the group were the only students in school. But still. . .

"Hey, guys. Where is everyone?" She asked, joining them.

"We were just taking about that. Some of the parents won't let their kids go to school," TJ said.

"Apparently a lot of them woke up with ditches and claw marks in their yards and aren't willing to put their kids in any danger," Gretchen explained.

"Lucky kids. . ."

The bell rang, and they had to cut their conversation short. At least most of her friends were there, minus Mikey. Did he have all of those things in his yard, too? A third of the class was missing, but if the schools were still open, then they must not think it's that big of a danger for kids to go to school. Especially this school system, always on their case about something, like the statue incident.

Focusing in class was a challenge with that kid on her mind. Part of her wanted to be mad about it. Who did that kid think they were, always popping up when she was about to go to sleep. And on top of that not even tell her who he was. Not even a clue. But she couldn't be, she was still curious about him. For a minute she thought about the idea of grabbing him and pulling him into her room and demanding answers.

When the first recess came around, they made their way towards the door leading to the playground as usual, but was stopped by a very smug looking Ms. Finster telling them to turn around and head towards the lunchroom for _indoor recess_.

"Why can't they let us have recess outside?" Vince asked, pushing the doors to the lunchroom open. "They let us out yesterday."

"Maybe the whole playground is destroyed. The jungle gym was pretty messed up yesterday," TJ said.

"There's only one way to find out," Spinelli said before heading towards the windows with the others following. There was already a small crowd gathered around the window to see what was of the playground.

It was like the damage spread out. While yesterday it was just a few claw marks on old rusty, there were much more. The slide was barely hanging on to the rest of the jungle gym and was in shreds. As much as they all protested the school from getting rid of it, they all knew it would probably need to be replaced. The pavement wasn't much better off with so many potholes and cracks that you probably wouldn't be able to take a step without tripping or stepping on a crack.

"Woah. . ."

"What happened. . ?"

"How are they still letting us come to school?"

"That. . .That looks like a good reason for indoor recess," said Vince.

"It looks like a reason for us not coming to school at all," Gretchen said. "I have several questions regarding the school districts cancellation policies."

"Can't really be mad about indoor recess when seeing this," Spinelli said. "Right, Teej?" She turned to her friend, expecting him to answer, agreeing with her and the others. Instead he was focused on the playground, looking like he wasn't paying much attention to what they were saying and mumbling something to himself. She poked him to get his attention.

"Huh?"

"You okay there, TJ?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just zoned out there for a minute," He said. "What were we talking about?"

"How trashed the playground is and that we shouldn't even be in school," she said. "Indoor recess makes sense after seeing that, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does," he said. "C'mon let's go figure out what to do for recess."

They ended up playing some bland generic board game that they couldn't be bothered to remember the name of. Barely paying attention to the actual game, the time went by painfully slow, and the idea that this was what recess was going to be like for some time was starting to offend them. More so TJ than anybody since it was a well known fact that one way to quickly enrage him was to mess with recess in any way/shape/form.

He showed his frustration by banging his head against the table. When Spinelli asked if he was okay, he nodded, explaining that though he wanted and could stage a protest against this, even he knew that them being stuck inside couldn't be helped so it would be useless.

Eventually it ended, and for the first time, they were all happy to go back to class. When lunch and second recess came around, they desperately didn't want to do the same, so they tried to form a conversation.

"So Spinelli, did you see that kid again last night?" Vince asked. Preferably not that. She wasn't in the mood to talk about that kid. Mostly from having thought about him all day and being more than ready to end the long train of thought on the subject. But if it was the only thing they could think of talking about. . .

"Yeah, he did," Spinelli said, sitting down at the lunch table. "He actually spoke."

"What did he say?" Gretchen asked. "Anything clues to his identity?"

"He said he was 'closer than I think. Really, really close.' Or something like that," Spinelli said. "Either he's messing with me, or he goes to this school."

"Sounds like he's messing with you," said TJ.

"I know. And I'm starting to get sick of it," Spinelli said.

"What about his voice?" asked Gus. "What did that sound like?"

"Kinda raspy, like he had a sore throat or something. Or one of those microphones that changes your voice. You know, one of those things?" The nodded, knowing what she was describing. Every now and then they would use one of those in one of their many plans. "He'll probably be back tonight. Any ideas on what I should ask him?"

"It should be something indirect about his identity would be the best approach," Gretchen said. "He seems set on not telling you who he is. Any direct questions won't be effective towards finding who he is."

"Alright, so indirect. Whatever that means. . . "

"Maybe ask what his favorites are? Like colors, games, movies?" Gus suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea," TJ said. "Ask him that sort of stuff. We'll narrow it down from all the students."

"Fine. I'll even right it down," she said sarcastically. "It'll be real official, like an interview." Yeah right. If anything, that kid was gonna give her vague answers and riddles about himself, and Spinelli already knew she wasn't going to be in the mood for that right before bed.

Unlike the last two nights, Spinelli brought over her desk chair next to her window with her notebook and waited for this mysterious kid to arrive. Come to think of it, she never saw him climb up the tree next to her window. He was just sort of. . ._there_. Like a little weirdo. Creeped out, she looked out her window just to check if he was already there, just watching her like the weirdo he is. He wasn't, and she started to think he was little less weird.

Right as she leaned back in her chair, she saw in the corner of her eye one of the lower branches of the tree shaking. She looked out of her window again and saw the mystery kid climbing into the tree. She opened her window right as he reached her window. He sat on the branch right outside it, as usual, swinging his legs as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"What's with you, dude? Always coming to my window is kinda creepy," she said, leaning closer to the window. He shrugged his shoulders. "So is it a slow night or something? You usually come a little later."

He nodded.

"Can I ask you a few questions?" She asked. He nodded again. Slowly he moved closer to her window until he was sitting on the windowsill, still facing outside.

"What's your favorite color?" She asked him. He didn't make any move to point or at anything the same color he liked. "It's a weird question, I know."

He pointed to the red t-shirt she was wearing as part of her pajamas.

"Red? Red's your favorite color?" She asked. He nodded. "Nice choice. What about. . . .your favorite ice cream. You got one?"

"Mint chocolate," he said in the same raspy voice as before.

"I guess everyone has their favorites, even if it's nasty," she said. "_Mint chocolate._" He laughed at her disgust of his answer. "How abo—" She was interrupted by a loud _BANG_ and the sound of splintering wood. The mystery kid turned his attention from her to the edge of her backyard. After uncovering her ears with her hands, Spinelli looked in the same direction he was.

In her yard, trying to shake off the broken wood of the fence it broke through, was one of those _things, _those monsters. As it shook off the last large pieces of wood off it's body, the mystery kid moved back onto the branch outside her window. He closed the window before jumping down to the ground, getting the monsters attention. With it's focus on him, he took off running the same way it came in with the monster chasing after him.

"He crazy for making that thing chase him," Spinelli said. She stood at the window, watching him until he was too far away to see. She could see the light outside the kitchen turn on before her father stepped outside to see what had happened. Speaking of which, she was supposed to be in bed right now.


	4. Chapter 4

"His favorite color is red, and his favorite ice cream is mint chocolate. He left before I could get anything else out of him."

The topic of what was happening in the town still stayed fresh as the sightings of those massive monsters continued steadily roll in. It took up more and more of the news reports as the property damage increased, and less people felt safe stepping outside of their homes. This included parents keeping their children home from school, which the school district fully understood, sending out notices that it wouldn't count against their child attendance record. Spinelli was not one of those kids.

"That doesn't help us identify who it might be," Gretchen said. They stood around their desks, waiting for class to start.

"Yeah, red is a pretty popular color," Vince said. "And a lot of people like mint chocolate ice cream."

"It was all I could ask him about, alright? He had to leave before I could ask him more," Spinelli said. "Relax. He's probably gonna visit me again tonight like always."

"Can you guess how tall he is?" Gus asked.

"No. He's always sitting on the branch outside my window. If he ever came in my room and stood next to me, then I'd know," she said. "But he didn't, so I don't."

"It's alright, Spin. You tried your best," said TJ. "But he acts like he does whatever you ask him to."

"I dunno what his deal is with coming to my room every night is, though," Spinelli said. The bell rang just as the last few students walked into class. With everyone in their seats, the day went forward as normally as it could.

It was difficult paying attention with the lesson what with everyone mind being on what's been happening to their neighborhood. A few of the kids sitting closer to the back was able to get away with passing notes and whispering to each other about it.

About halfway through their first lesson, there was a light knock at the classroom door before Hank the janitor quietly opened the door. The students and Ms. Finster turned to his as he gestured her to come closer. The students watched as he whispered something into her ear before leaving and going to the classroom right across from them.

"Alright, everyone up and in a line," Ms. Finster ordered in the quietest voice they ever heard her speak in. "And do it _quietly._"

Not willing to challenge her, the class got out of their desks and gathered in line. When they stepped outside the classroom, they saw the other classes walking out, in line, towards the front door of the school. When they reached outside, they saw a few school buses parked and being packed with students, as well as others continuing to pull up.

"What do you think is going on?" Gus asked. "Why are we leaving the school?"

"It appears to be an evacuation, though I don't know why," Gretchen said as they climbed into their bus.

"It is an evacuation. One of the custodians found one of those. . .creatures, towards the back of the playground," Menlo, who sat in one of the seats across from them. "The school's being emptied for the safety of the students."

"Do you know how many?" Asked Vince.

"Just one. And it was sleeping, which is why they wanted everyone to be quiet as we left. Didn't want to risk causing a ruckus that might cause it to awaken," Menlo said. "I estimate that school will be cancelled tomorrow, if not the rest of the week."

"Hey, at least we get out of school super early," Spinelli said just as the bus drove off. "That's one good thing that came out of this."

One by one, the school buses left and dropped students off at their respective homes. Stepping inside, Spinelli found the house to be empty. At least that was a plus. She barely got to stay home by herself, what with her overprotective mother. Her father was more lenient on the idea, but whatever.

She skipped the TV and headed right for the kitchen for an early bowl of ice cream. If there was one thing that being home while sick taught her it was that no good cartoons was on until 4 in the afternoon. Just a bunch of soap operas and news shows. Ugh.

Nah, rather than sit on the couch and watch a bunch of shows she didn't like she headed up to her room.

"Maybe we won't have school for the rest of the week," She said to herself. It might've sounded hopeful but you never know, right?

. . .

Being stuck in the house was a lot less exciting on a school day than kids tended to imagine it. As soon as it his 3:30 the daily motions of coming home and doing homework resumed, as if her school wasn't on lockdown because of suspected monster activity. Spinelli could hear the TV playing downstairs in the living room, and thought about going down to watch for any news about what the heck was going on. On the one hand, that kid could be showing up at her window at any moment, on the other hand, he usually showed up later, when she was supposed to be asleep.

"Hey, pookie. Heard you had an early day," her father said as she came into the living room.

"Huh? Oh yeah. They found some stuff on the old playground and evacuated the school," said Spinelli..

"Oh, sweetheart, are you okay? You didn't get hurt, did you?" Her mother said. She came out of the kitchen, barely hiding all that motherly concern that she found to be oh so embarrassing. Right away, her mother fussed over her, looking her over for cuts and bruises.

"I'm fine, mom," she whined. "I didn't actually see anything."

"Good! You'd think they'd inspect the schools to make sure nothing like this would happen!" Her mother said. "Putting kids in danger like that. Doesn't anyone down there ever think?"

"Hey, at least you don't have school tomorrow," her dad said to try and lighten the mood.

"School's cancelled tomorrow?" she asked.

"Uh-huh. Safety concerns. For the rest of the week, too," he said. "One of us'll probably stay home to watch you."

"But I was fine at home for a couple of hours today. . ."

"I know, but call us overprotective," her dad said. "We'd feel better with one of us at home, especially with those monsters around."

"If you say so."

. . .

Long after dinner and bed time, something that she didn't understand why she had to follow when she wasn't going to go anywhere tomorrow anyways, she laid on her bed, waiting by the window for the strange kid to show up. Maybe she could ask him some more questions, but he acted like he didn't want to answer any of them.

Honestly he was starting to get on her nerves. Coming up to her room out of nowhere and acting like they were friends or whatever. Who did he think he was? The lease he could do was answer a few questions.

A knock at her window caught her attention. Speak of the devil. . .

"You've got some nerve coming here," Spinelli said, as she opened the window. She leaned on the windowsill blocking his way into her room. "What's your deal, kid?"

He sat on the branch near her window, as always, answering her question with silence.

"I don't know what I expected," she said. "I've got some questions, and unless you're gonna answer them, you're not getting in my room. Got it?" He nodded. "Alright, come in. But don't make a lot of noise. My parents are sleeping."

She moved out of the way, allowing him to climb through the window. When he stepped inside, he stretched before sitting on his bed.

"First question," she said, not wasting anytime. "Do you know about what they found at the school?"

A nod. She joined him on her bed.

"Does that mean anything? They aren't after kids are they?" She asked. He shook his head, but it was only after a pause, and slow. He raise his hand with one finger up, then opened his hands and wavered. "One kid? Sort of after one kid?" He nodded. "Why?"

He groaned, really big surprise there, before falling back on the bed.

"Is it complicated?" She asked. He nodded. "Can't be that complicated if you'd tell me. I have no idea what's going on. You could at least tell me why you come to my room about every night."

He shrugged, still laying on her bed.

". . .I trust you. . " he said. Though it was progress, Spinelli was starting to think that the most she was going to get out of him were two or three worded answers.

"You _trust_ me? What for?" She asked. "All I did was let you into my room."

He shrugged again.

"You're weird, kid," she said. "Where are you even from?"

"The fiery pits of Hell," he said. Spinelli watched him stand and walk to the window. She joined him at the window to see someone else dressed in a similar outfit, walking in her backyard looking impatient.

"There's _more_ of you?" She asked, folding her arms. He shook his head before holding up two fingers. "It's just the two of you?"

He nodded. He opened her window and started to climb out but stopped and turned back to her.

"What's the matter?" She asked. He came closer to her before stopping and leaning in. And kissed her.

He kissed her. On the cheek, which she _guessed_ was better than on the lips, but it was still a kiss.

Eww.

Before she could punch him, preferably in the face, he was out the mirror and in her backyard, talking to the other kid who decided to make their appearance. They left, but not before waving back up at her.

She made a mental note to punch him whenever he came back.

Jerk.

* * *

**Wow it's been a while since I updated. Sorry about that. I've been busy with school and my own novel and such. I'll try to update more often, and get this fic done before I publish Youthful Rebellion, hopefully. **

**I didn't forget about this fic, I swear. I just have had other things on my mind.**

**Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Wow, an update that didn't take over a year, holy shit. Exciting, right? I'm trying to at least get a good portion of this chapter done before I post a new fic and a series of one shots I have in mind. But I'm still here folks. This fic and my others just haven't been on my mind, with my own personal original writing getting most of my attention. Luckily enough writing fanfiction is my way of taking a break. So with that, let's get rolling.**

* * *

. . .

Spinelli, to her dismay, woke up at the same time she would have been forced to on a regular school day. She was thankful that her mom didn't wake her up as if she had somewhere to go, but she woke up anyway, at – she glanced at her clock and groaned when she read the time – a while 15 minutes before her usual time. Ugh.

She rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Unless her stomach was growling and threatening to digest itself, she could stay in bed.

She could hear the rain outside beating against her window. Already, it felt like a day that was meant to be lazy. She wondered which of her parents decided to stay home. Probably her mom; her dad, as lighthearted as he was, had his chivalrous moments, and would probably care too much about her safety to let either of them go outside with what was happening.

Or they both stayed. It didn't matter.

A tapping at her window was brushed aside. The wind was blowing every now and then, explaining it away. Plus it was daytime. Definitely not the kid. He always came at night to keep himself from being seen. Nope.

The tapping happened again, and it really should have been ignored if it wasn't harder and louder than before.

"No," She said, sitting up in bed. She blinked, and her eyes stung as she adjusted to the little bit of light in her room. "That better not be him I swear to God. . . "

She tossed aside her blanket angrily crawled to her window.

A lo and behold he was sitting on the branch, in the rain, as if the weather was just peachy and water wasn't falling from the sky.

"What are you doing here?!" She said, trying to keep her voice quiet enough to not get the attention of her parents. "It's morning!"

He nodded.

"Go away! Shoo! I'm still mad at you, anyways," Spinelli said. He tilted his head. "You know what for! Who gave you the right to kiss me? Do you go around kissing girls without their permission?"

He shook his head.

"I'm still not letting you in. I haven't even had breakfast yet. Come back later or something. Way later," she said, closing her window. The nerve of that kid. As if she had nothing else better to do than entertain him.

. . .

Breakfast was just a bowl of cereal, which she didn't complain about; she could take it back to her room without an argument about it with her mother. As it turned out the two of them decided to stay home, eyes glued to the TV screen as the news showed more of the reports on what's been happening around Third Street lately.

And she understood why; it was kind of a big deal. Supernatural things didn't happen much at all, plus that's all anyone would be talking about long after it was over. But she didn't feel like watching paranoid people rant about their conspiracy theories for hours on end.

"Are you still here?"

Coming back to her room, she was that he was still sitting on the branch outside of her window, the same exact spot, as if she didn't just tell him to get lost. The rain must've soaked through his clothes by now. He must really be stubborn.

Or stupid. Probably stupid.

"I'm still not letting you in," she said. Spinelli sat at her desk and ate. He stayed, patting his knee's as he patiently waited.

Dumb kid.

She might go for another bowl. She wasn't in a rush.

After taking the bowl into the kitchen and turning down another, she came back and he was still there.

"You really want to come in, huh?" Spinelli asked, lending against the windowsill. He nodded. She sighed. "Alright. Come closer, first."

He moved closer, still sitting on the branch but within her reach. Once he was close enough, she welcomed him with a sharp smack to the face, which was a feat, considering that she didn't know where his hoodie ended and face began.

"That was for kissing me last night! You're lucky you aren't closer or I'd punch you!" She said. "You better not do it, again!"

He nodded quickly.

"Good. Now what do you want?" Spinelli asked. He gestured his hands for her to come closer. "What? You want me to come with you?"

He nodded.

"No can do, kid. It's raining, and I'm sure my parents are gonna come up here and check on me," she said. "And how do I know I should trust you to take me anywhere? You haven't even given me a name."

She stopped talking, letting the sound of the rain take up more of the space between them. What else was she going to be doing today besides homework? And her parents would probably nap all day; rainy days tended to have that effect.

"Alright, fine," she said. "Give me a minute to get ready."

With that she closed the window and blinds.

What the heck was she getting into? Being talked into sneaking out by someone who barely said a word at all.

Whereas she would normally wear her oversized t-shirt and striped leggings, she replaced it with a pair of jeans, black t-shirt and jacket, still keeping her boots to protect from the mud. She opened the window, and he was still there of course.

"Alright, I'm ready. I hope you were expecting me to come out the back door or anything. I'd get caught right away if I tried that."

Taking a deep breath, she started to climb out the window and onto the branch. The motions weren't too unfamiliar to her; she had snuck out a few times before and the tree next to her window came in handing for doing it. But she hadn't done it in the rain and with the risk of slipping.

She felt him grasp her arm and side, pulling her out of her room and onto his lap before jumping down to ground. She pushed away from him.

"You're really pushing it, kid," she said as she got her footing. "I've got half a nerve to knock you out!"

He held up is hands and self-defense. She folded her arms.

"You've gotta close my window. My floor is gonna get wet," she said. "I would've done it myself if _someone _didn't manhandle me."

"Sorry," he said.

He climbed back up the tree and managed to close her window. When he jumped back down, his boots squashed into the mud.

"See, that's why we shouldn't be out here," Spinelli said. She sighed. "C'mon. Why'd you want to bring me out here?"

He held his hand out for her to take. She eyed it, wondering exactly who this kid thought he was, asking to hold his hand.

"No thanks, I'm good," she said. "Can we go now?"

. . .

They ended up taking the less commonly taken route to the lake, probably to avoid being spotted, Spinelli assumed. They reached the woods nearby the lake that she and her friend spent plenty of time at skipping rocks. Following him through the tree's, she watched him look around, examining the ground for who knows what.

She folded her arms as they got deeper into the woods. Parts of the trees began to appear shredded off or damaged, along with a few that were completely knocked over, exposing the roots underneath. The kid looked around a few of the trees that clearly had deep, numerous, claw marks on them.

"Is this where you think those monsters are coming from?" She asked. He nodded. "Wouldn't they have found this by now? It's not exactly hard to miss if you're really looking for anything."

He shook his head, helping her down a semi steep, muddy, and slippery hill. She followed him to a pile of fallen and deteriorating trees. In the middle of the pile was one massive tree that somehow managed to stay up despite the tree's around it having fallen, and it looking worse for wear, with the top cut off and the base cut in half vertically.

Though the rain made it harder to see, there was a carving in it. A circle, with a square, then diamond on the inside. Spinelli followed him as he leaned in closer. Upon closer inspection, the middle of the groves were lit up with what looked like tiny embers.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Door," he said.

"Doesn't look like any door I've seen," she mumbled.

"Portal, door. Same difference," he said as he stood up. He patted the side of pants before reaching in and pulling out a pocketknife. He careful carved out a large 'X' across it. Slowly, the ember-like lights flickered out.

"That's one," he said, standing up straight.

"You mean there's more than one?" Spinelli asked. He shook his head. "Do you know where they are?" He shook his head again. She sighed. The rain started to let up slightly, and she wondered how much trouble she was going to get in if her parents knew she was gone. "Still don't know why you wanted me out here with you. You don't need me to do this."

"I trust you," he said.

"I barely know you, dude. I'm a pretty trustworthy person but you should get to know someone before trusting them," she said.

They continued walking through the woods, presumably looking for more broken and fallen trees.

"Question," Spinelli said. "You're just a kid right?" He nodded as they avoided a thick pool of mud. "So why are you doing this? I'm not complaining or anything but it's dangerous, isn't it? You could get really hurt."

He shrugged.

. . .

They only found two more of those portal things before heading out of the woods. Taking the short route, they reached Spinelli's backyard again. He helped her climb back in the tree and through her window. He left without saying a word, and she changed out of those wet clothes to not give any clue that she was gone for a few hours.

Once dressed, she quietly walked downstairs and checked on her parents. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that they were asleep on the couch. Deciding that a nap sounded good right about now, she turned and went back upstairs and towards the bed.

* * *

**I know this fandom is barely alive, but this is a request fic, and it's going to get done, if it's the last fic I ever write.**

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Life. That's my excuse.**

* * *

Another day off from school, nothing too surprising, all things considered. There wasn't much to do, though. Within a few hours, Spinelli had finished whatever homework the teachers had already sent them home with before they were all taken home in an emergency evacuation. That was mostly due to her mother forcing her to sit at the kitchen table as she did it. Part of her knew that she was going to be thankful for having it out of the way ahead of time, but for right now, it was hours wasted on something she wasn't worried about.

She dragged the phone into her room, the wire flowing under her bedroom door as she put it on her bed. What else to do except call her friends and see what they were up to? They had to be as bored as she was. So.

TJ first. He was the closest, after all. She dialed his number without paying much attention to the buttons. The phone rang and rang until she reached voicemail. Huh. That's weird. Shouldn't they be home what with everything going on? She tried again, only to get sent to voicemail.

Well. That was going nowhere. She hung up and picked up the phone again. Maybe Gretchen will pick up. A day was more than enough for her to get through any school work.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Gretchen what's up?" She asked.

"Oh, hello, Spinelli. Nothing much, just finishing the last of our homework for the year," said Gretchen.

"Geez, Gretch. We get a week off and all you want to do is study."

"I can't help it. There's only so many experiments I had lined up before now, and they're all either finished or I have to go to the library for more information," she said.

"Well, don't burn yourself out, at least. Did you hear anything new about what's going on around town?" Spinelli asked.

"Hmm, no, nothing that wasn't already broadcasted on the news. But shouldn't I be asking that of you? Did you hear anything new from the strange kid that keeps coming to you?"

"Sort of? I snuck out with him yesterday—"

"You did what?! Spinelli, that's dangerous with those things running around! You could've gotten hurt!"

"I know, _mom_. But I'm fine. Besides, if he's running around _chasing _them he could probably fight one off if anything happened," said Spinelli. She plopped down on her bed, glancing at her window. Just a tree, no weird kid standing on one of its branches. "But he took me out to the woods and showed me some weird stuff that might help us figure all of this out.

"What did you find out?" Spinelli could hear the shuffling of papers and the click of a pen.

"When we were walking, we kept finding these strange symbols carved on fallen down trees. It had a circle, a square, and a diamond, I think. And parts of it looked like it was on fire, kind of like tiny embers when you're trying to put out a campfire, you know what I mean?" She explained. "He said it was a 'portal' or something."

"A 'portal'?"

"Yep. He didn't say much about it after that, just carved an 'X' over it before moving on," said Spinelli. "That happened a couple of times before I snuck back home."

"Well, that certainly is something new," said Gretchen. "I'm not sure what to make of it, however. I'm going to try and do some research on this, but I can't say I've ever read anything resembling this."

"Figured. It's alright, Gretch, don't wear yourself out about it. Take a day to breathe, geez," said Spinelli. "I'll try to get more information about him."

"Alright. Try not to put yourself in too much danger."

"Will try."

"Ashley? I need to use the phone!" Spinelli heard her mother call from downstairs.

"Okay!" She shouted back. "I gotta go. Talk to you later."

##

Kicking something laying on her floor, Spinelli occasionally looked at her window, expecting someone in a black sweat suit to be sitting right outside it. However, as the hours ticked passed, the kid never showed up. She supposed she should be a little happy about it, he had a habit of showing up when it was the least convenient, maybe he was giving it a break.

But part of her was worried. Maybe he was out chasing after those things tonight. He always popped up sooner or later, no matter what. It could be a particularly busy night or something.

. . .

What if he had to face a lot of them tonight? What if he was out numbered?

"He'll be fine," She said to herself. "He's got that other kid with him. Why do I care so much, anyways?"

Rain started to beat against the window as a storm rolled in. That didn't help ease her concern.

##

He didn't show up that night. Or the next. Or the one after that.

It was reported in the news that there has been a sudden decrease in sightings and damage done by the mysterious beasts, which helped put everyone's mind at ease. Maybe these odd occurrences was close to ending, and they could go back to living their normal lives.

That could've been why he didn't stop by lately. If that was the case, he should be stopping by sooner rather than later.

"I need to think about something else," said Spinelli. She laid on her bed, leaning upside down on the edge. "I'm getting cabin fever being stuck in this house all day."

By the time Monday rolled around, the town was given an all clear, and everyone was returning to work or school, though they were all a bit cautious. Spinelli stepped off the school bus and met up with her friends inside.

"Hey, Spin. Hear anything new from that kid?" asked Vince.

"Not much. He only showed up once after school was cancelled," she said. "I talked to Gretchen about it a little bit already."

She shared with the others what she already told Gretchen. They each showed an interest in what she saw, and worry that she would go out, not so much with the kid, but while those monsters were still roaming around freely. But she was safe and uninjured, and that's all that really mattered.

When class begin, Ms. Finster was adamant in catching them all up on the missed assignments. After a long lecture that seemed to even make time slow to a crawl, she handed out a short stack of paper to the class. A good chunk of them were wondering why this wasn't called a quiz, it was certainly more than long enough to be called one. Staying at home for days suddenly didn't look so bad.

Spinelli got to work on hers, like everyone else. Word problems, some problems involving maps and graphs. . .just looking at them made her want to groan in agony. For a while the most she had written down was her name and date. But eventually she found one question that wasn't so hard before moving to the next.

Next to her, however, it looked like TJ having an extremely difficult time with it. Quizzes were never his strong point. Or tests. Or homework. But he never let it make him as agitated as he looked in that moment. He bounced his foot under his desk, while holding his head and one hand and tightly gripping his pencil in the other. And tighter and it might snap in half, it looked like.

Though no one, including her would dare speak a word during one of Ms. Finsters quizzes, she did send him a concerned look. That seemed to stop his fidgeting, but only for a few moments before it started again. Still worried, she let it alone until recess when they could actually talk without the threat of detention looming over their heads.

#

When recess came, the student body was upset to find out that it was another indoor recess, but once they were able to look through the lunchroom windows, none of them were able to make an argument against it. Old Rusty was completely missing. Gone. The damage must have been too much to ever hope to repair, like most of them thought, and for now, the playground was just one large slab of cement. There wasn't much most of them could do out there, anyways, even with all the balls to play with.

"Hey, Teej, what was with you in class?" Spinelli asked. She sat next to him at one of the lunch tables. Like in class, he sat bouncing his foot and holding onto his head, though with her coming over, he quickly tried acting like nothing was wrong.

"Oh, nothing. It's nothing," said TJ. He forced himself to stop fidgeting. "Nothing's wrong."

"It doesn't look like it," she said. "You sure?"

"Y-yeah, I'm sure. It's just my head. It hurts a little. It's been hurting for the last few days and it's bothering me," he said.

"Did you take anything for it?" She asked.

"As many aspirin as the bottle says I can take. It barely did anything," said TJ. "It felt better this morning but now it's acting up again."

"I'm sorry, dude."

"It's alright. . .I'm just gonna lay my head down before it gets any worse. . ."

He folded his arms and laid his head down on the lunch table, doing his best to block out as much light as he could, just as the rest of the gang came over with a board game.

"What's wrong with TJ?" Gus asked.

"His head hurts. He's gonna sit this recess out," said Spinelli. "What game did you get?"

"Monopoly," said Vince. "It was the only one left."

They set up, picked their respective pieces, and started to play as much as they could in the 30 minutes of recess given to them. TJ occasionally peeked out to take a look at the game before burying his head in arms again.

When the bell rang, they packed the game back into its box. Seeing that TJ didn't move, Spinelli figured that he had fallen asleep and started to lightly shake him, though, the second she touched his arm, his hand shot up, tightly gripping her wrist.

"Uh, hey, can you let go, Teej?" She asked, trying to pull her wrist out of his hand. It didn't budge in the slightest. "You're kinda hurting me. . ."

The focused expression on his ace melted away as he realized what he was doing.

"S-sorry, Spinelli. I dunno what happened," said TJ. He let go of her wrist. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. That headache must be getting to you," she said as they walked back to class.

"Yeah. . .must be. . ."

#

The rest of the day went without incident. No evacuations, no emergencies announced, not even another sighting around the city, the news reported. Spinelli found herself in her room again, expecting that kid to show up at her window. She rubbed around the area that TJ had grabbed onto during their first recess. It didn't hurt or was sore anything, no, but it was still a little red. It was weird, though.

She didn't think he was strong enough to grab her wrist as hard as he did. It was hard enough that her hand and fingers went numb for a moment afterwards, and she had a little trouble writing for a few minutes after that.

"Can things around here be normal again?" She asked herself. "I'd appreciate it."

She went to her window, but no kid dressed in black was waiting at her window. The least he could do was say goodbye if he wasn't going to show up anymore. Rude. She opened her window and took a look around the backyard. No sign of him.

"Whatever," she said, closing her window. "I'm not staying up all night waiting. I actually have school tomorrow. Maybe thanks to him. . ."

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**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors note at the end.**

* * *

That kid didn't show up again for the rest of the week, and Spinelli found herself genuinely concerned. While the sightings of those monsters appeared to have ended, she couldn't bring herself to believe that the kid would just stop showing up without saying much of a goodbye, not after taking time out of his job to visit her so many times.

At home, she'd look out of her window, expecting and hoping that he would show up, just to know that he was okay, but as the days continued to pass, nothing.

"I mean, he knows what he's doing, right?" She asked herself, pacing in front of her window on Friday night, "He can't be in that much trouble. He has help. . ."

She stopped and looked out her window again. Her tree was empty, it's leaves and branches moving with the wind.

"I'm worrying over nothing."

"Pookie, time for bed," her mother said as she peeked into her daughters room.

"'Kay, mom."

#

As her clock read midnight, Spinelli still couldn't fall asleep, as her mind remained preoccupied with the well-being of the strange kid that showed up on her window one day. This was ridiculous! He was fine! Just because he didn't visit her as usual didn't mean that something was wrong!

Still, she couldn't convince herself of that. But it's not like she could go out there looking for him.

"That's crazy," she thought. But really, what other option was there?

But it wasn't like those monster were out, so it couldn't be that dangerous to sneak out anymore, right?

Maybe.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Spinelli said as she changed out of her pajamas. She listened out for any sign of her parents being awake as she grabbed her baseball bat out of her closet. It wasn't much, but she guessed a few punches wouldn't fair off well against whatever _could_ be out there.

"I swear if I find him I'm going to kill him for making me do this," she said, opening her window.

Carefully, she climbed onto the closet branch to her window before climbing down to the ground. She flipped her hoodie up and headed out of her backyard to the sidewalk. How quiet the streets were in the middle of the night was nothing short of eerie. Being able to hear every little bit of her footsteps against the ground didn't help make her feel safe, and she gripped her bat, ready to start swinging at anything or anyone who was unfortunate enough to pop up. Not a single car on the road, only her on the sidewalk, just her, the buzzing of bugs, and rustling of trees.

"This is creepy," she mumbled. "What the heck am I even doing out here? Am I crazy?"

Rustling from the woods on the opposite street stopped her in her track, and she was quickly ready to start swinging. She waited, ready to attack if needed be. However, that need never came, as the kid stepped out of from between the trees and bushes, wiping his mouth.

"Oh, it's you."

He looked up at the sound of her voice.

"Do you have any idea how worried I've been?! You can't just start showing up to someone's window on a regular basis and disappear without saying anything! For all I know you could've been dead!" She asked.

"Shh."

"Don't _'shh'_ me! I outta knock you out for that!" She said as he approached. "So, where have you been? There hasn't been any sightings on those monsters all week, so everything's fine now, right?"

He paused, signaling for her to stop as he turned, appearing to hear something she couldn't.

"Go home," he said, heading down the street. "Now."

"I'm not going anywhere until you answer my question!" She said. He paused again.

"Go home," he said again. He looked back, and saw that she still stood.

Wordlessly, he picked her up, bridal style, and took off running down the sidewalk, with little effort.

"Let me go!" She said. "I can walk on my own!"

He refused, and continued down the block, carrying her along the way. It took no time at all for them to reach her house and backyard again. He jumped onto the branch outside her window, and finally let her go to climb into her room.

"Do I get an answer _now?_" She asked. "Where have you been?"

"Out," he said.

"I'm sorry, but no shit, kid," said Spinelli. "You know what I mean. You used to show up all the time, and then you stopped. That worries a person, you know? I didn't know if you were killed or something!"

". . .Sorry."

". . .Yeah, whatever. I guess," she huffed, folding her arms. "So are those thing gone now? The news said there were no more sightings."

He didn't answer, looking back out to the sidewalk. He closed her window and jumped down, leaving her backyard.

Well. At least she got an answer to her question. He was alive doing just fine. But seeing him only left her with more questions than answers

#

"Mom, I'm going over to TJ's house!"

The next morning, Spinelli was ready to get out of the house again without fear of being attacked. And it was more than welcome as she stepped outside after getting her jacket on. Other kids were already out, playing, eager to get some sun now that their recess was limited to what they could do in the lunchroom as the jungle gym gets replaced.

She made the quick trip across the street and knocked on the Detweilers door. It was his older sister Becky who ended up answering. She let her in as she continued to talk away on the phone. After all these years she probably could've come and go as she pleased; their families were each extensions of their own at this point.

"Hey, Teej, you in there?" She asked as she knocked on his bedroom door. Getting no response, she opened his door.

The room was cloaked in darkness as the blinds and curtains were closed. She spotted him, a lump on his bed, completely hidden under the covers.

"You're not sleeping on a Saturday, are you? It's the first time in the while everyone could go out without being worried," Spinelli said. She shook him, though it didn't take much to get him to move. He turned, only peeking out enough from under the cover t expose his eyes.

"Spinelli? What are you doing here?" He asked groggily.

"I should be asking you that. You're usually the one who comes over my house on Saturday," said Spinelli.

"Oh. Sorry, Spin. My head still hurts," he said.

"It's okay. I can over to hang out, but I can leave if you want me to," she said.

"No, it's fine. I'm okay if I don't move," he said, turning over to face her. "What's going on?"

"Remember last week when that kid stopped showing up at my window?" She sat down and leaned against the side of his bed. "I sorta snuck out last night to go looking for him."

"Spinelli that's dangerous! You could've got hurt!" He said, wincing right after.

"I'm fine, Teej. Nothing happened. I actually found him," she said. "He carried me back home as soon as he found me, like some helpless princess. I tried asking him why he went missing but he left before I could get an answer out of him."

"Maybe he was in a rush," TJ suggested. "What if it's still dangerous out there?"

"Then he should've told me that! I didn't know if he was dead or alive! You can't just show up on someone's window on a regular basis then stop all of a sudden," she said, "What am I supposed to think?"

"You sound really worried about him."

"I'm _not!_"

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!"

She heard him chuckle as her denials.

"I'm glad you think it's funny, Teej."

"I'm sorry. It just sounds like you have a crush on the guy. And you don't even know what he looks like."

"I do not have a crush on him! I'm not getting a crush on anybody after that baby tooth incident! Can't a kid get worried about another kid showing up at her window while they're chasing freakin' monsters around town?"

"Do you realize how crazy that sounds?"

"Yeah, as soon as I said it," said Spinelli. "This whole thing is so bizarre. I feel like I stepped into the Twilight Zone."

"It's not the first weird thing we've been caught up in," said TJ. "You know?"

"Sure do. I guess I'll head back home and let you relax. You should go get that headache checked out."

"I did. The doctor said it's probably just a migraine," he said.

"A migraine that lasts a week?" She asked. "Whatever. Just get better soon, okay, Teej? Can't have you out of commission now that things are starting to get back to normal around here."

"Sure. If you stop sneaking out at night."

"No promises."

* * *

**Wow, I didn't expect to get any sort of response for this fic. I honestly just updated on a whim. **

**I decided to rewrite this fic, because the original was going far off of what I planned for it, and I didn't know how to get it back on course, so with this rewrite, I'm hoping to fix that, and do it right. The only bad thing about it is that spoilers are abound, lol.**

**Please Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors note at the end. It's not that important, but it's there.**

* * *

The building of the new jungle gym as coming along smoothly. Though there was still much to do, as the slide, monkey bars, swings, and top of it still needed to be installed, but the framework was standing proud where Old Rusty used to be, somewhat taunting the kids who were _still_ stuck inside for recess. Hopefully it would be finished sometime this week.

Spinelli walked from the window to the table where the rest of the gang were sitting, and the board game of the day was set up. Something called Kill Doctor Lucky.

"How does this game work?" Vince asked.

"The goal is for one of us to kill Doctor Lucky, as the title suggests. Whomever manages to do so is the winner. We take turns moving through rooms collecting cards, while Doctor Lucky moves on a set path. We can use one of the weapons cards to attempt our murder," Gretchen explained. "Sounds interesting. And a little inappropriate."

"Why would they even have this game in here?" Spinelli asked.

"I have no clue. But it might be interesting to play," said Gretchen.

"I'll give it a try. I've got nothing better to do," Vince said.

"I'll pass. I can't bring myself to enjoy a game where the goal is to commit a murder," said Mikey. "I'll take this recess to work on some poetry."

"I guess I could give it a try," said Gus.

"I'm gonna opt out on this one, guys," TJ said. He folded his arms on the table and laid his head down. "M'head still hurts. . ."

"So did that kid ever show up again? Or is he still missing?" Vince asked as they began the game.

"He still didn't show up at my window, but I found him," said Spinelli. "I sort of snuck out and went looking for him myself."

"Spinelli, that's dangerous!" said Gretchen.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. TJ already gave me lecture about that on Saturday." Spinelli heard a light chuckle from TJ next to her. "I'm fine. I wasn't even out long before I found him. But I couldn't get anything out of him. It was just a waste of time."

"Maybe now that he knows you're worried, he'll show up again, so you won't have to sneak out," said Gus.

"I hope so. I'm getting tired of worrying about a kid whose name I don't even know," she said. "C'mon, let's just focus on the game, I mean to take my mind off this."

And so they did. Like many other students around the lunchroom, they were focused on getting through their board game, eager to get back outside to fresh air and sunshine as soon as possible. There were only so many times a kid could play a board game before they got sick of it, and based on the tension rising in the air over the last week, everyone was reaching their limits.

After her turn, Spinelli waited, not paying much attention as the game moved forward. For a moment she thought about joining TJ in taking a nap. She was no kindergartener, but a nap sounded good right about then, as time seem to tick past slower with each second.

Suddenly, with a groan, TJ sat up and climbed out of his seat.

"You okay there, Teej?" Spinelli asked.

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "I'm not."

He walked away from the lunch table while covering his mouth, towards the double doors that lead to the rest of the school, gaining the attention of a few other students on his way. Right before he reached the doors, he was stopped by none other than Ms. Finster.

"Where do you think you're going, Detweiler?" Ms. Finster asked with her hands on her hips.

"To the bathroom," he asked. "It's kind of an emergency."

"And how do I know you're not going off to cause trouble as usual?"

An answer was given in the form of TJ emptying his stomach on the tiled floor in front of him. Rather than the usual green, or even brown that any kid who has ever been sick was familiar with, it was a distinct red, with swirls of white. Without waiting for a response, he passed Ms. Finster and ran out of the living room. Ms. Finster huffed, still unwilling to admit that she was wrong, and left to find Hank and get the school nurse.

"Woah, he's really sick, huh?" Vince asked, they all looked in the direction that their friend had took off running.

"I suppose it's a safe to assume that we won't be seeing him for the rest of the day. His parents will probably be called to pick him up," said Gretchen. They agreed, and did their best to continue on with the game, now with a new worry on their mind.

And then it hit, like a truck going 100 mph. Just as every kid had experienced chucking their cookies at one point or another, they've also gotten a good whiff of it, probably making them upchuck a second time. It went without saying that it was horrible.

But this.

This reeked of absolute _death_.

The cafeteria was emptied out for that reason alone onto the still in repair playground, though they didn't stay out there longer than it took to walk back to the front of the school and return to class.

#

"Hi, Mrs. Detweiler. Is TJ okay? He kinda upchucked in front of the entire school today."

It went without saying much that one of them should check on their leader after school, just to make sure he was okay. Anyone who threw up blood had to be down for the count at least for a little while, right? Right. So as his friend, they had to make sure that he was at least still alive. It ended up being Spinelli, as she lived right across the street from him.

"Oh, hi Ashley. Yes, TJ will be just fine, he just needs plenty of rest. He won't be coming to school for the rest of the week," said Mrs. Detweiler. "The doctor also told us no visitors, so I'm sorry if there's something you want to tell him, but it's going to have to wait until he gets better."

"That's okay. I just came to check on him," she said. "Can you tell him to get well soon?"

"I will. Get home safe, Ashley."

With that, she stepped off their porch and started on her way home. She did stop, however, on the sidewalk to look up at the window to TJ's room. Luckily, she did find him looking out to wave at her as she left. She waved back before heading home.

#

Even after she snuck out to see him, Spinelli still didn't find him at her window that night. For a kid who was already weird, he seemed dead set on being even more so to show off. She closed her math book the moment she was done solving the last problem and looked at her window again. The wind was still blowing, and lightly raining, but no kid.

It's not like she could go back out and look for him again. She already knew he was fine, so there was no need to go out and check on him. He's fine. She knows this.

"I swear to God this kid had better give me some answers this time," she said, plopping down on her bed.

She waited until hours after dinner, when she could hear both of her parents snoring down the hall. She locked her door, and got dressed, swapping her dress and tights for a pair of jeans, t-shirt, and hoodie. She pulled the hood over her head and grabbed her baseball bat again before climbing out her window.

If the streets were eerie the last time she snuck out, it was ten times worse with the rain added. She remembered the weatherman saying that it was only a light shower overnight, possibly into the morning, so there was no concern of a flash flood. She passed the same spot where he popped out of the bushes, almost expecting him to do the same this time, but he didn't, and she kept walking.

"Can't believe I'm doing this, _again_. If I have to beat the answers out of him, I'm gonna," she said. "He can take a couple of hits. Or a dozen."

She kept walking, keeping an eye and ear out for any sign of the kid. Spinelli was sure she walked for 10 or 15 minutes before anything happened. A sound came from a manhole in the middle of the street. She stopped, watching as the lid was lifted and pushed aside. True to his character, or as much of it as she could get from what she knew about him, the kid climbed out from under the street, carrying that weird pipe along with him.

"Hey!" She called. He jumped in surprise and turned to her. "I'm not done with you!"

He tilted his head as if to say 'Clearly'. He nudged the manhole cover back into its place, and Spinelli wondered for a second exactly how strong you had to be to do that with your foot, and with minimal effort.

She walked over to him, and he leaned away, though that didn't stop her from hitting him with his bat. Any concern about hurting him was put to rest as he barely flinched.

"You're gonna give me some answers, kid, or I'm gonna beat 'em out of ya!" She held her bat, ready to swing again.

As much as she wanted to be seen as a viable threat, it was clear that he wasn't concerned with her hurting him but his posture becoming more lax. He took her hand and led the way towards the nearby woods, but she yanked it out of his grasp.

"I'm not doing this again! You're gonna answer my questions!"

He scratched the back of his head before nodding. Good. She was making progress. He held out his hand for her to take, but she passed, brushing it aside.

"No thanks. I can walk just fine by myself," she said. He shrugged and led the way into the woods.

Though she didn't hold his hand, she stayed close. The tree's didn't help in keeping the path clear, and it was easy to get lost without any daylight to help you see where you were going.

"So is it true? The news says there's no more sightings of those monsters, so they're all gone, right?" Spinelli asked. He shook his head. "Then why are we going through the woods? How do you know there aren't any here right now, hunting us down?"

"I can hear 'em. And smell 'em," he said, spinning the thin metal pole with his fingers. "We're safe."

"If you say so. Is that why you haven't been showing up at my window lately?"

"Mm-hmm."

"See? That's all you had to answer. If you did the other day I wouldn't need to sneak out to find you, kid," said Spinelli. "It's just that me and my friends, we're curious about you, that's all. You can't just show up out of nowhere and disappear. People get worried when that happens. Not me, 'cause I know you can handle yourself. I just had to make sure."

She heard him chuckle.

They continued through the woods, accompanied with the occasional sound of a snapping twig or hoot of an owl. Spinelli felt him grab her arm as he stopped in his tracks, looking behind them. She started to ask why, but he signaled for her to stay quiet. She tried listening out or anything, but aside from the usual woodsy sounds, she heard nothing.

Then, he took her hand and ran, leaving no room for questions, and although she now had plenty more to ask, she wasn't foolish enough to stop him if he felt they had to run.

But they did stop, coming to a screeching halt as one of those monsters cut them off. The ground shook as it landed, almost causing them to lose their footing on the already muddy ground. It stood on its hind legs, towering over the two of them, doing a fantastic job of intimidating them. It snarled, it's hot, steamy breath hitting their faces.

The kid moved to keep her behind him, but that didn't do much to keep her safe, as they felt the ground shake again. Behind them, another one of those monsters arrived, trapping them.

The kid snapped the very tip of the pole he carried and shoved it into Spinelli's hand. A red light embedded into it blinked. Within a few seconds, the two of them were surrounded by a red transparent dome.

"Stay here," the kid whispered to her. He ran out the dome, it making a slight hissing sound as he passed through, though it didn't seem to hurt him at all. As the monster reached down to grab at him, he jumped high out of its reached, and hit it right on the head as he came back down.

At it stumbled, he pressed his pole onto its neck horizontally, keeping it pinned by standing on it. The kid reached to his lower leg, pulling out a hunting knife. However, before he could do anything with it, the other tackled him to the ground, grabbing onto his hoodie and swinging him around, until he was thrown deeper into the woods. The two monsters took off after him.

. . .

. . .

What the hell just happened?!

Spinelli looked at what was shoved in her hand. It was about as wide as a quarter and as thick as a small notebook.

"This must be what's making. . .this," she said, waving to the dome around her.

She walked to the edge, and placed a tentative hand to it. It was solid, and it gave her skin a light buzz, like the static that came off the TV. Unlike the kid who walked through with no problem, she couldn't, and was stuck here until he came back. At least she was guarded from the rain.

But they were throwing him around like a ragdoll. He got a few good hits in, from what she could see from the rain. She hoped he would get back soon.

An ear splitting shriek echoed through the woods, and Spinelli reflexively covered her ears to keep them from hurting. When it stopped, it was followed by two loud thumps a ways off in the distance.

The sound of footsteps and heavy breathing told her it was over, at least for now, and the kid was coming back. As he got closer, it sounded like he was walking with a limp.

"You okay kid? I know you can handle yourself out there, but you were tossed pretty far. I don't care how strong you are, that's gotta hurt," she said, turning to face him.

Once he was back in sight, she stepped back, mouth agape, dropping a small device she was given to hold.

"TJ?"

He look up at her, confusion written all over his face. It was only when he reached up to touch the hood of his jacket and he found that it wasn't there, that he knew that his cover was blown.

"Crap."

* * *

**This chapter will have two parts. I wanted it all to be one, but I felt that it would be so long that it would grossly stick out from all the chapters. Sorry, but you're all going to have to wait until the next chapter for the reaction. What will happen? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z.**

**Am I taking a bit of a break of Youthful Rebellion to work on this fic? Perhaps. I'm not giving up on that fic, it's just that it's going to get ****_very _****dark soon, and I need to make sure I write it at just the right pace.**

**Please Review!**


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